Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
If I may ask, has anyone done a Tool Assisted speed run of this game yet? I'm curious to ask because I plan to make a speed run myself and hope to learn helpful strategy's.
Joined: 4/8/2005
Posts: 1573
Location: Gone for a year, just for varietyyyyyyyyy!!
Hello Flygon! I believe nobody has recorded any movies of this game yet.
Generally, autoscrollers are not good games for TASing and Battle Squadron feels somehow slow (at least in the beginning). However, this game allows 2 players to play simultaneously, which might be interesting to see. Also, interestingly, difficulty is set by changing the speed of enemy bullets (this should be set to the maximum value: 400). Who knows, the 2 player mode might be cool, if it's done well. You might want to see examples of other autoscroller movies (like Gradius) to get ideas for your attempt.
I have not played the game much myself, so I can't give any detailed hints, but it seems that the game has some alternative route possibilities(?), so the fastest and shortest (or maybe the most interesting/entertaining?) routes should be used.
By the way, your signature is nice, but the size (and image-like nature) of it is against the rules here. :)
---
Edit:
Heh, they use foreground elements to hide enemies and have some backgrounds colored to correspond enemy projectiles. Quite nasty gameplay development...
If I may ask, has anyone done a Tool Assisted speed run of this game yet? I'm curious to ask because I plan to make a speed run myself and hope to learn helpful strategy's.
According to the search, there aren't even any rejected or half-completed attempts at TASing this game.
Looks like you've got your work cut out for you. ;)
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
Aqfaq wrote:
Hello Flygon! I believe nobody has recorded any movies of this game yet.
I noticed, I already looked, but I was just checking with you guys just in case.
Generally, autoscrollers are not good games for TASing and Battle Squadron feels somehow slow (at least in the beginning). However, this game allows 2 players to play simultaneously, which might be interesting to see. Also, interestingly, difficulty is set by changing the speed of enemy bullets (this should be set to the maximum value: 400). Who knows, the 2 player mode might be cool, if it's done well. You might want to see examples of other autoscroller movies (like Gradius) to get ideas for your attempt.
I'm aware that, yes, it would be slow, but it is still possible to speed up some portions of the game, such as the bosses, which are much easier in my opinion to play than the auto scrolling parts.
I have not played the game much myself, so I can't give any detailed hints, but it seems that the game has some alternative route possibilities(?), so the fastest and shortest (or maybe the most interesting/entertaining?) routes should be used.
There any alternative routes, only major way of speeding it up is by killing the bosses faster.
By the way, your signature is nice, but the size (and image-like nature) of it is against the rules here. :)
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
Considering that no one else seems to be making a TAS and by having a quick look at this list, it turns out that Autoscrollers can be candidates for speed running.
So I've been making a speed run after all, after making a first attempt (And failing of course). As noted previously,the foreground is quiet a nasty bugger and I am great full I can turn them off. =P
It's nothing impressive really, the fact that it only uses slow motion does not help much either, anyway, I'm posting a WIP, bumping this topic and making a double post. But I hope it's worth it to pitch in my run =P
Here is the WIP
Note: I tried fileden but registration failed.
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
Aqfaq wrote:
Hints:
- Choose the 2-player mode
When I can be bothered finishing the single player run first =P
- Don't miss shots
I noticed that when replaying the movie actually, so yeah, I'm gonna have to fix that =P
- Use more than 6 rerecords
Don't worry, I will =P
- Use frame-advance
When I have all the time in the world =P *coughschoolcough*
- Choose a different game
I've been considering some sort of Road Rash II speed run, if thats even possible in a sense. Over wise, no.
Good luck!
Your welcome.
Edit: Level 2 is done, than god for Nova Smart Bombs, ironically, the game just kept the level going as normal THAN proceeded to the next level, so I could have saved a smart bomb =P
Edit 3: THE RUN IS ALMOST DONE
I've currently just killed that boss with that annoying shield in record time. At this rate I'm going to have to go on a date with Nova Smart Bombs.
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
I don't have the GMV as it is on my old hard drive, it was in no way optimized or even route planned anyway, considering it was made with slowdown (Part of the reason I accidentally repeat the menus).
Man, every time I find a new Amiga->Genesis port it makes me die a little inside. This game was better on the Amiga. :(
The time has come for Amiga TASing.
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
I do have to agree that the game was definitely downgraded to the Mega Drive (With worse graphics and sound) and I do go full ahead and say make an Amiga TAS but of course we lack the emulation =P
And no, I haven't played the Amiga version but it does look and sound better.
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
I have yet another question, if i make a (good) run, should it be 2 player or 1 player?
Because part of the rejection text said that among the reason it was rejected was because it used 1 player, yet I see tonnes of 1 player runs despite the 2 player option =P
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
This is just being recorded at 3% speed, imagine if I did it with frame advance. No, that video wouldn't ever be used for a serious submission.
I've considered doing this run again, but I've got a question before I consider starting it. Does it really have to be a two player version of the run for it to be accepted? I'm happy to do a single player run, but a two player version is way over my head.
Yes, I've also been doing my research on the game, such as the usual left+right glitches (Of which there MAY be a useful one, for making the ships hit box smaller, but I need to put in more research). I've also figured out that I'd generally need to be as close to things as possible to avoid the two shots on screen limit at once too.
But yeah, the general question is, is it possible to do a single player (and optimized) run and still have it accepted here?
Looks like you are missing shots. Unless this is for a good purpose, I think you should try to land all hits possible. Also try to kill all enemies.
Not sure if a two player run would make it more fun.
Does it add something else, like more enemies, or quicker boss kills?
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
It would only really add to killing the bosses a bit faster, but overall, it wouldn't majorly help the run and just double the workload for me.
Of course the video misses shots, I just made it as an example of what I could do, I recorded it at 3% and no rerecords. If I actually made a TAS, it'd be with frame advance and rerecording (And not just 56 like my 2 year old submission).
While it is more tricky to control two ships at the same time, it also adds perhaps more entertainment, as you can do nice formations, and just screw around with the ships.
I did this for my Sunset Riders TAS.
Took a while to complete, and it can be tricky to map the keyboard so that you can press most buttons at once. But it also added some more fun to it.
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
Well, after lengthy discussion, I'll be doing a two player TAS, after realizing certain things that could potentially kill certain bosses almost instantly, and hopefully kill the 3rd boss BEFORE IT EVEN GETS THE SHIELDS UP.
Heh, they use foreground elements to hide enemies and have some backgrounds colored to correspond enemy projectiles. Quite nasty gameplay development...
